1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a quick freezing apparatus and a quick freezing method making it possible to suppress as much as possible deformation and deterioration of an object-to-be-frozen (for example, a food product, a food ingredient, medical product, a medicine, a living tissue, or a living cell) required to be preserved for a long term.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various freezing methods and freezing apparatuses have been developed in order to realize storing of a food product or a food ingredient while keeping its freshness and quality at a high standard. As a technology enabling even a living cell to be frozen-preserved/stored, International Publication No. WO01/024647 discloses a quick freezing method and an apparatus therefor, which have been proposed by the inventor of the present application.
This quick freezing apparatus includes a freezing store capable of lowering a temperature inside the store to a temperature of −30 degrees C. to −100 degrees C., a fluctuating magnetic field generator for applying a unidirectional magnetic field whose strength fluctuates within a predetermined range in both of the positive and negative directions relative to any fixed value set as a reference value, a fan for circulating cold air in the freezing store at a wind velocity of 1 to 5 m/sec, a sound wave generator for superimposing a sound wave within the audio frequency range onto the cold wind circulated by the fan, and an electric field generating device for applying an electric field to the inside of the freezing store.
This freezing apparatus has achieved a significant result in preserving a food ingredient or a food product while keeping its freshness.
Patent Document 1: International Publication No. WO01/024647.